Not bad on the penalty kill: Norfolk postgame

It almost looks kinda placid, doesn’t it? Norfolk with 15 shots in the second period despite 11:00 of power-play time: As my grandfather used to say when he’d ask how much something cost, since it didn’t cost him anything, “that’s not bad.”

Contained within those four-plus power plays and 11 minutes with 1:26 of five-on-three, including six shots on goal? Moments of chaos. Moments of referee Dave Banfield waving his arms furiously because Kevin Poulin had kicked a loose puck away from the goal line while Bridgeport’s three or four penalty killers worked almost as furiously to keep the Admirals away.

“They had bodies in front of the net. It was hard to see,” Poulin said. “You battle. It’s never in the net until it’s across the line.”

He kicked out that one on a scramble on the first five-on-three, making a save on Brandon Yip at the back door and knocking the puck away. Brad Winchester tried again; Poulin made the save. Nic Kerdiles put the puck over the net moments before the net crashed down on Poulin as Scott Mayfield battled his man.

“I had no idea what happened,” Poulin said. “Two, three, six bodies on me.”

He kept battling.

So, too, did the PK. The first three penalties in that second period, not counting Alan Quine’s carryover from the first, were assessed to Justin Courtnall, Colton Gillies and, while on the PK already, Johan Sundstrom. All three are PK forwards. Scott Mayfield, a PK defenseman, winds up tossed because of a cut to Yip on his boarding penalty.

Really, that they held Norfolk to 15 shots — nine on the PK off the unofficial scoreboard — that’s not bad.

……..

After the AHL’s three morning games Wednesday, Bridgeport’s penalty kill ranks third in the league at 90.2 percent. It has allowed just one goal at five-on-four in the past seven games.

“Courtnall, Gillies, Langkow and Vaughan, that group of penalty killers has embraced their role as far as that’s their specialty for our team,” Brent Thompson said. “We’ve still got a lot of clean-up work to do. That’s one big thing for me, that we don’t get too comfortable of complacent.”

Nice reward for Courtnall to put one in, too, in just his fourth game. He was a mainstay on the penalty kill last year in Hamilton, too, so it’s a comfortable spot for him.

Kevin Poulin in the first three games: 10 goals against, 96-for-106 (.906), 3.23 GAA. Poulin’s last three: 3 GA, 95-for-98, 0.96. Averages with small denominators and what have you, but he’s looked sharp. (In all that’s 2.09 and .936, to save you the math.)

Franchise win No. 499, 50 of them in shootouts. They’re 499-413-31 (ties)-46 (OTL)-49 (SOL) in 1,038 games. (Or, to save you other math, 449-459-130.)

An impressive number of kids stayed (or more accurately were allowed by their schools and chaperones to stay) to the bitter end. It’s usually kinda quiet by the middle of the third period. The side opposite the benches remained pretty full even after the buzzer.

Bridgeport goes back over .500 in morning home games, 8-7-0-1. It has won eight of the past 11, seven of the past nine.

Ryan Faragher’s AHL debut: In the 11 a.m. game, was a victim of a beautiful power-play passing play capped by C.J. Stretch, a fairly filthy Alan Quine backhander, and a Courtnall rush that ended up a one-on-one. Welcome to the next level, kid.

Dylan McIlrath wasn’t sent back in time but wasn’t needed: Stamford’s Ryan Haggerty scored the game-winner in Hartford’s 3-1 win this morning up at the XL Center. In fact, noted a faithful correspondent, three AHL morning games today, three 3-1 games.

Tonight at the XL Center: a sellout for the Huskies’ first Hockey East home game.

And RIP, Cole Hamblin.

Michael Fornabaio